Chocolate Bars Recipe
This chocolate bars recipe is the perfect sweet treat to stash in your freezer for sweet tooth emergencies!
Chocolate doesn’t have to be unhealthy. While you still want to enjoy it in moderation (hello calories!), chocolate is actually perfectly healthy stuff!
What makes it unhealthy? Everything that gets added to it. So instead of buying chocolate bars at the store that are totally unhealthy and bad for you, here’s how to make them easily at home with far healthier ingredients!
And yes, these make great gifts for special occasions!
About The Ingredients
Unsweetened chocolate – Choose your chocolate carefully. The higher the cocoa content the healthier it will be! (Dark chocolate anyone?)
Coconut oil – Use virgin oil that is hard at room temperature. This is a critical ingredient for your bars getting hard enough in the fridge or freezer to actually become a bar instead of liquid chocolate.
Granular sweetener – I used xylitol because it’s easier on my blood sugar. But any granular sweetener will work here. Try Sucanat, coconut sugar, or even monk fruit!
Salt – I used pink Himalayan salt, but any fine salt will do the trick here.
Chocolate Bar Flavorings
If you want to add flavoring to your chocolate bars, here are some suggestions. Use one or all!
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup finely chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, or macadamia nuts will work well here!)
How To Make This Chocolate Bars Recipe
In a small slow cooker (you can use a double boiler too), melt your chocolate on low, stirring once or twice as it melts.
When melted, stir in the coconut oil and melt fully.
Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Pour the chocolate into chocolate bar molds and set in the fridge. Once they are a little solid, you can move them to the freezer if you need them to harden faster.
Remove from mold and keep in the fridge or freezer at all times.
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Chocolate Bars Recipe
Equipment
- Chocolate bar molds OR a small cookie sheet with sides
Ingredients
- 8 oz. unsweetened chocolate
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 1¼ cup granular sweetener
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
Instructions
- In a small slow cooker (you can use a double boiler too), melt your chocolate on low, stirring once or twice as it melts.
- When melted, stir in the coconut oil and melt fully.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix well.
- Pour the chocolate into chocolate bar molds and set in the fridge. Once they are a little solid, you can move them to the freezer if you need them to harden faster.
- Remove from mold and keep in the fridge or freezer at all times.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe from the Gracious Pantry® archives, originally posted 8/5/12.
These are great! I sprinkled half the sea salt over the top in addition to some organic cocoa nibs I had on hand for a little crunch. The parchment lined cover of a 9×13 pan worked as a great mold.
Emilie – Awesome! Glad you liked them! 🙂
This recipe looks awesome! In fact all of yours do and it is perfect since I am cutting out sugar! Thanks for all the time you put into this website and the recipes 🙂
Erin – My pleasure! Let me know how you like them. 🙂
I just made these smells great but I was wondering how long do they last in the freezer thanks
Stella – If you pack them up properly, they’ll be good for about 4-6 months.
Great recipe, I’ve made 4 batches by now and me and my co-workers love them. I just realized the last one I forgot the salt, but I didn’t notice any change in flavor and I like the smoother texture anyway so I think I will nix the salt from now on. Maybe this is just regional lingo, but I would not call these “bars”; it has the consistency of a piece of fudge straight out of the fridge/freezer. Unless it’s straight out of the freezer I would eat it with a fork or it will melt all over your fingers. At (slightly warm) room temperature the consistency is almost like frosting, so I plan on using this recipe on a summer cake if the opportunity ever comes up.
Kevin – Great! I love it when a recipe has more than one use! 😀 Glad you enjoyed it!
It wasn’t until after I got hooked on these that I noticed how expensive coconut oil is, which this recipe obviously uses lots of. But, once I did the math the cost was not as high as I feared. For anyone who cares, based on local prices of $15 for a can of Bereans virgin coconut oil and $7-8 for a jar of raw unfiltered honey (the 2 most costly ingredients), this recipe costs me about $9 to make. I cut a batch into 12 pieces for $0.75 per piece, which I think is ok (not cheap or too expensive).
Kevin – I love that you figured that out! Thanks! 😀
I would love to make these, but I’m allergic to coconut. Can these be made with any other type of oil?
Thanks
Stephanie – Sadly, I don’t know of another oil that will solidify like coconut oil will.
We absolutely LOVE these! We added oats to give it a little more texture. Two months ago I started eating as clean as possible, to feel better and lose weight.The great part is that one bar satisfies many different cravings for both my husband and me.
Amy – That’s wonderful!
Re choc bars. Its noy clean eating if it has cocco and honey. That’s a big no no for someone that on a clean eating diet.
Kylie – How do you figure? Raw honey is perfectly clean, as is raw cocoa powder. Grant it, they are special treats, not everyday foods, but there is nothing unclean about them.
I have just made these and they are in my freezer. Wowsers!!! I licked the bowl and that’s all I can say and also thank you!!!! I’m addicted to sea salt chocolate so I put a whole tsp of sea salt in and omitted the chilli (kids might not appreciate it!) but sprinkled some chilli flakes on the top of 1/4 of the slab. I’m very excited about making my own Chocolate!
Michelle – Fantastic! Enjoy! 🙂
these were amazing!! I’m working on cutting sugar out of my diet but taking small steps! I’ve cut out refined sugar, and am slowly working on decreasing the amount of sweets I eat in general. These are incredibly satisfying with a small piece! I actually cut them into 32 pieces.
Sonia – Ya, these will really take care of a sweet tooth with very little! Glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Made these tonight and snuck a taste (or two) before they were fully hardened. Oh my, these are good!! I am out of cayenne but will definitely add that next time too. Yum! Now, to not eat the whole batch!!!
Natalie – I thought that would be my problem too! But the good news is, a little goes a long way. They are very satisfying, so 1 bar is generally enough.
I am assuming that I need to heat this while mixing. Is this correct? Can’t wait to whip these up tonight. I need a chocolate fix!
Darlene – Correct. Keep the heat low.
Thank you! I tried these, and OH my goodness! Love this! Now… self control. self control. self control. haha!
Darlene – Haha!!! Ya, but thankfully they are rich enough that a little will go a long way. Enjoy!!
Someone added oats- how much and how did you add it? That sounds really yummy!
I don’t really like coconut, but I think I’d have to make an exception for these. 🙂
I’ve never used coconut oil. Do I measure it cold and then heat it while I whisk the ingredients together or can I liquify the oil first??
Sonja – Either way. 🙂
I LOVE your recipes! I make at least one per week, and have shared your website with all my friends! I have lost 40 pounds by switching to a clean eating lifestyle, and slowly but surely I am converting them all to clean eating! Thank you!
I had a question about this recipe. My friend and I made fudge with coconut oil and it was awful! Just tasted like oily coconut. Is there something else you could sub for the coconut oil? I love Hershey’s bars, and its been hard to give them up!
Susan – Not on this one. You need an oil that will solidify. I suppose you could try butter, but I have no idea how that would work out. I have to say though that these do not taste like oily coconut. At least not to me!
Can I use wax paper instead of parchment paper? Also if I want to add peanut butter how much?
Jennifer – You could, but wax paper is not the healthiest way to go. The wax particles get into your food. I wouldn’t add peanut butter to the bars themselves. I would just spread some on after they have been frozen. That, or layer the chocolate with peanut butter in muffin papers to make peanut butter cups.
Thank you!
Jennifer – My pleasure!
I made these today and they are good but very rich and more like fudge. Is that how they are suppose to be?
Jennifer – Yes, they are very rich. A little goes a long way.
I just made this recipe as their is an allergy to tree nuts in our home so I avoid them all and used with butter. They smell delicious and in the liquid form it is heaven. Cannot wait until it hardens some to let you know the final outcome. So far though they are amazing!! thank you for all of these wonderful recipes!!
Nikki – Thanks! But if you have a tree nut allergy, wouldn’t that also include coconuts? Just curious. Don’t want anybody to get sick!